A leading economic index for South Korea inched up in April, with Asia's fourth-largest economy being the only country among OECD member states to see such a trend, data showed Sunday. The composite leading indicator (CLI) of economic activity for South Korea stood at 99.9 last month, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, marking the rise for eighth consecutive month, according to the data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). A reading below 100 me

Economy May 17, 2020

YANGJU -- Second-year domestic tour pro Park Hyun-kyung has won the first golf tournament held in South Korea during the coronavirus pandemic. Park captured the 42nd Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Championship in Yangju, just north of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, on Sunday, at 17-under 271. By carding a 67 on Sunday at Lakewood Country Club, Park held off Bae Seon-woo and Lim Hee-jeong by one stroke for her first KLPGA victory and also her first KLPGA major championship. Pa

Golf May 17, 2020

President Moon Jae-in said Sunday that further infections linked to entertainment facilities in Seoul's nightlife neighborhood seem to be controlled thanks to swift virus testing and contact-tracing efforts. After successfully containing COVID-19 cases for weeks, the country reported a spike in new daily virus cases, most of which are linked to nightclubs and bars in Itaewon. South Korea added 13 new cases of the new coronavirus on Sunday, with nightclub-linked infections showing signs of a s

Social Affairs May 17, 2020

The 14-day-long examination period required for South Koreans' tours to the demilitarized border village of Panmunjom may be cut to a three-day process, the United Nations Command (UNC) said Sunday. The UNC said it is currently discussing the simplification plan with the South Korean government. "The 14-day examination required for Koreans wishing to visit the Joint Security Area (JSA) is South Korea's own regulation which the UNC has been implementing for over than 10 years for South K

Defense May 17, 2020

Churches and temples remained on their toes Sunday, taking strict precautionary anti-virus measures, in the second week since the resumption of their public services following COVID-19 outbreaks. South Korea eased strict social distancing guidelines on May 6, allowing churches, state-run museums and libraries to resume operations. But following a recent resurgence of virus infections, traced to clubs in Seoul's nightlife district of Itaewon, reopening churches and temples remained highly vigi

Culture May 17, 2020

A chartered South Korean flight Sunday brought home 239 Korean nationals from Russia where all international flights were grounded amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Korean Air flight, arranged by the South Korean Embassy in Russia, landed at Incheon International Airport earlier in the day after leaving Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport. On the plane were Korean students, business travelers and families of Korean workers in Russia. This marks the third flight South Korea has sent to

Foreign Affairs May 17, 2020

South Korea is reviewing an option to ease regulations on the establishment of factories in the country's metropolitan area as part of efforts to woo more firms with overseas plants return home, the finance ministry said Sunday. Currently, strict regulations are in place on the construction of new plants and their expansion in the metropolitan area, which the business community has cited as a hurdle. The ministry said it is reviewing measures to finance the cost of reshoring, provide tax ince

Economy May 17, 2020

Nexon Co. became the first South Korean game developer to log a market capitalization of more than 20 trillion won ($16 billion), data showed Sunday, on the back of soaring demand for home entertainment contents during the virus pandemic. The gaming giant saw its market value reach 1.9 trillion yen (21 trillion won) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as of Friday, with its shares closing at 2,152 yen, up 3.86 percent from a session earlier, industry data showed. Shares in Nexon jumped a whopping 14

Market May 17, 2020

Kiwoom Heroes' rookie manager Son Hyuk is an optimist by nature. Even with his Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) club mired in a four-game losing skid heading into Sunday's action, Son is maintaining his "glass half-full" mindset. "In the past two, three seasons, we had mediocre starts and then picked things up in the summer," Son noted before facing the LG Twins at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. "As long as we stay afloat, I think we'll be just fine." The Heroes won f

Baseball May 17, 2020

LG Twins' manager Ryu Joong-il got out of bed Sunday morning with his back hurting a little more than usual. He had just managed a double header against the Kiwoom Heroes for more than six hours on Saturday, and he spent the majority of that time standing in and pacing around the dugout at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. This was the first double header of the young Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season. That the Twins won both games eased Ryu's pain. "This was our first double header in qu

Baseball May 17, 2020

South Korea's finance ministry is working to sharply cut this year's economic growth outlook due to growing fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, sources familiar with the matter said Sunday. Late last year, the ministry predicted a 2.4 percent on-year expansion for Asia's fourth-largest economy this year, but given the toll of the coronavirus outbreak on the economy, it may drastically cut this year's growth estimate. South Korea's economy shrank 1.4 percent on-quarter in the first quarte

Economy May 17, 2020

One in three companies in South Korea may trim workers in the future if the economy does not show signs of a significant recovery from the new coronavirus pandemic, a poll showed Sunday. In the poll conducted by the Korea Economic Research Institute, about 30 percent of the surveyed 120 companies said that they will not be able to maintain the current level of employment if the COVID-19 pandemic not mitigate over the next six months. To batten down the hatches for the economic fallout from t

Economy May 17, 2020

미국 하와이주를 찾은 뉴욕 출신의 20대 관광객이 2주간의 의무 격리 지침을 위반한 혐의로 미 현지 경찰에 체포됐다. 16일(현지시간) ABC방송 등에 따르면 테리크 피터스(23)는 지난 11일 뉴욕에서 출발해 하와이 오하우섬에 도착했다. 피터스는 하와이주가 엄격한 코로나19 방역 지침을 실시하고 있음에도 불구하고, 이를 무시한 채 관광에 나섰다. 하와이주는 지난 3월 중순부터 관광객 등을 대상으로 14일간 격리 기간을  갖도록 하는 엄격한 방역 지침을 시행 중이다. 이에 따라 하와이에 도착한 여행객은 연락처와 숙박 장소 등을 서류에 기재해 방역 당국에 제출해야 하고, 2주 격리를 위반할 경우 최대 5천달러의 벌금형과 1년의 징역형도 감수하겠다는 내용에 자필 서명을 해야 한다. 하지만, 피터스는 의무 격리 약속을 깡그리 무시하고 와이키키 해변에 나가 인증샷을 찍었고, 대중교통을 이용해 주요 관광지를 돌아다녔다. 이후 피터스는 자랑삼아 자신의 셀카를 인스타그램에

한국어판 May 17, 2020

"온라인 삼성고시 실화인가" "아무리 화상으로 감독해도 대리시험이나 커닝을 막을 수 있을지 의문이다" "대책이야 있겠지만 그래도 처음이라 답답하고 걱정이다" 삼성이 '삼성고시'라 불리는 대졸 신입사원 공채 삼성직무적성검사(GSAT)를 온라인으로 시행한다고 발표한 후 취업준비생들 사이에서 우려가 잇따르고 있다. 이런 우려를 의식한 삼성은 온라인 GSAT의 성공 여부가 부정행위 방지에 달려있다고 보고 만반의 준비를 다하고 있다. 17일 삼성에 따르면 온라인 GSAT 부정행위 방지를 위해 시험 전 과정에서  철저 히 관리·검증할 계획이다. 시험 전 뿐만 아니라 시험 후까지 이중, 삼중으로  부정 행위 방어막을 마련했다. 우선 온라인 GSAT 실시일인 30∼31일보다 일주일 앞서 응시자들의 접속 시스템을 점검하기 위해 예비 소집을 한다. 응시자들에게 휴대전화 거치대, 개인정보보호용 커버 등을

한국어판 May 17, 2020

President Moon Jae-in will preside over a meeting of the government, the ruling party and the presidential office next week to discuss the country's worsening fiscal health amid massive planned spending to fight COVID-19, officials said Sunday. The three-way meeting set for May 25 is likely to zero in on how to fine-tune the pace of fiscal spending against the pandemic as the country is steeping up fiscal expansion to guard the economy from the fallout of the pandemic. According to the Mini

Politics May 17, 2020